« Thus we have arrived at a decomposition of history into floor plans. Or, if you will, to the distinction, in the time of history, of a geographical time, of a social time, of an individual time »
Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the Age of Philip II,
Preface to the 1 st edition, Armand Colin, 1949
Our
Mission
The International Association of Museums of History (IAMH/AIHM) was founded in Paris in 1991 to foster work and ideas of relevance to history museums. It was originally created in response to the statement that there was no clear definition of the history museum and the fact that it was defined rather with respect to what it was not than to what it was. From its beginnings, the Association has been striving to organise professional discussions within the group of museums which share the characteristic of possessing historic collections.
Since 2003, the IAMH/AIHM has been working as an organisation affiliated to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), but acting on a smaller scale. Since 2014, the IAMH/AIHM’s legal seat has been situated in Paris.
The IAMH/AIMH targets museums of contemporary, social and cultural history. With a membership that includes a variety of museums and individual professionals in Europe, we aim to stimulate professional debate about topics relevant to history museums both on the theoretical and practical levels. The IAMH/AIMH functions as a complementary think tank on topics at the edge of historic research in museums: difficult heritages, problems of interpretation in a time of growing diversification and many public voices, challenging subject matters, the challenges of translating complex narratives into exhibitions, the social relevance of exhibitions, etc.
So far, the Association has organised several international conferences with different partner museums.
- Difficult Heritage, Helsinki City Museum 2011
- Flight, Expulsion and Ethnic Cleansing. A Challenge for the Work of Museums and Exhibitions worldwide, German Historical Museum, Berlin 2010
- Museums as places of reconciliation, Historical Museum of Serbia, Belgrade 2008
- Mémoriaux, Musée d’Histoire de Marseille 2005
- City Museums as Centers of Civic Dialogue, Amsterdam City Museum 2005
- How to organise a multi-centred world? Museums and new global cultural issues, Museu Paulista da Universidade de Sao Paolo, History museum, Rio de Janeiro 2004
- Comment inscrire les musées de ville dans la ville?, Musée d’Histoire de Marseille, in cooperation with the French Direction des Musées de France 2003
- Museums, Media and Tourist Attractions, Lahti City Museum, Finland 2002
- No limits to History?, City Museum, Luxembourg 2000
- Museums and politics, Quebec 1998
- What is the future of History Museums?, The House of Geschichte, Bonn 1996
- What are the perspectives for History Museums in Europe?, Paris 1994
- History Museums / History in Museums, Paris 1992
Since 2005, we have been organising annual workshops under the general title “History Museums in Focus: Museum Professionals in Dialogue”. It has consisted of one study per year, based on a case study, and animated by open exchange. Its objective is to reflect and discuss in particular about new museum and exhibition projects, and share experiences and practices.
In order to achieve its aim, IAMH offers several services to its members:
- A network of personal and institutional contacts with museums,
- Working groups on major issues relevant to museological theory and practice,
- International annual workshops,
- Various initiatives of exhibition projects on an international level, and
- Professional publications.